Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

High-security number plates for sea-going vessels

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government has proposed fixing tamper-proof number plates on all sea-going vessels, chiefly fishing boats, registered in Kerala.

The decision to fix the latest “high security registration plates (HSRP)” initially came in the background of warnings from intelligence agencies that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was sourcing small sea-going vessels from Kerala for possible use as light gunboats.

The government is now feeling hard-pressed to implement the scheme following reports that “foreign” terrorists responsible for the recent attacks in Mumbai had used a fishing boat to arrive at their destination.

The Coast Guard had reported that unregistered fishing boats and those displaying fake registration numbers, often just scrawled in paint on the hull, were being used for criminal activities. The security-hologram-imposed HSRPs will be uniform in pattern.

It will be fixed on boats only on premises notified by the Fisheries Department, the registering authority.

The State-owned Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) is designing the number plate. The government will subsidise the cost of installing the new plates to help fishermen.

Sajan Ambadiyil, who heads the project, said the HSRPs were reflective, designed to be protected against counterfeiting and contain hidden security features (similar to those found on currency notes), which could be verified by law-enforcers even at night. They would be fixed in two easily viewable places on the hull.

The C-DIT will set up a computerised database containing the details of all registered boats. Law enforcers will be able to access the database easily through their mobile phones by sending a text message conveying the registration number of any boat they want to find more about. The computer will immediately message back the registration particulars of the vessel, including its engine and hull numbers and owner’s name.

Currently, the government has little record of deep-sea-capable fishing boats operating from Kerala.

Sources said the scheme would help maritime law-enforcers better monitor and regulate the movement of such vessels along Kerala’s approximately 700-km-long coastline.

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